Targets and indicators

Flagship Projects

School to WorkAims to strengthen transnational cooperation between stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region in the field of education and work in order to prevent early school leaving and develop support for vulnerable groups of students/youth. www.s2wflagship.eu

Baltic Training ProgrammeSupports the internationalization of vocational education and training as well as entrepreneurship and the internationalization of business. www.baltictrainingprogramme.se

Baltic University ProgrammeLargest university network in BSR focused on sustainable regional development through cooperation in education, research and applied projects www.balticuniv.uu.se

Baltic Sea Labor ForumAims to promote social dialogue, tripartite structures and cooperation as crucial elements of sustainable growth and social development in the BSR www.bslabour.eu

Baltic Science NetworkAims to provide science and research ministries of the Baltic Sea region states with an overall coordination framework to develop and implement science policy in a macro-regional dimension and to ensure a better representation of macro-regional interests on the EU level http://www.baltic-science.org/

European Social Fund

Objective

The new 2014-2020 programme provides grants in the framework of national, sectoral or regionalised programmes to support the improvement of employment and social inclusion. In this period, the ESF focus is: to train people and help them get into work; to promote social inclusion; to improve education & training, to improve the quality of public services in each EU country.

The Youth Employment Initiative is open to all regions whose level of youth unemployment is above 25%. This initiative targets all young persons under the age of 25, not in employment, education or training, residing in eligible regions, who are inactive or unemployed (including the long-term unemployed), and whether registered as seeking work or not. The Initiative is fully integrated into the ESF programming framework. All ESF funding should be co-financed from national resources. At Member State level, the YEI would be programmed within the ESF. The overall budget is €3 billion.

Common themes in the Baltic Sea Region

The Baltic Sea Network-ESF (BSN-ESF) is a network of Managing Authorities for the ESF in the Baltic Sea Region, aiming at improving and enhancing transnational cooperation and the social dimension of the European Social Fund. The network is funded by the Swedish Institute and is lead by the Swedish ESF Council.

In order to establish a manageable number of common areas for calls for proposals in the ESF in the Baltic Sea Region, linked to the EUSBSR, the Baltic Sea Network-ESF (BSN-ESF) has agreed on seven themes (see table below). They reflect the priorities in the Operational Programmes for ESF (2014-2020) in some orall of the Member States concerned. The themes are particularly selected as representing problem areas/clusters which are common for the Member States in the macro region and where transnational cooperation will give an added effect. They will continuously be fine-tuned and when needed restating.

Application procedure

When preparing calls, contact should be made with the relevant Priority Area Coordinators in the EUSBSR in order to take into account EUSBSR specificsand to use and mobilize the extensive network of potential project promoters already connected with the Priority Area and known by the coordinator (PAC).